evacuate

verb

evac·u·ate | \ i-ˈva-kyə-ˌwāt

, -kyü-ˌāt\

evacuated; evacuating

Definition of evacuate

transitive verb

1 : to remove the contents of : empty

2 : to discharge from the body as waste : void

3 : to remove something (such as gas or water) from especially by pumping

4a : to remove especially from a military zone or dangerous area

b : to withdraw from military occupation of

c : vacate sense 1 were ordered to evacuate the building

intransitive verb

1 : to withdraw from a place in an organized way especially for protection

2 : to pass urine or feces from the body

Other Words from evacuate Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about evacuate

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Synonyms & Antonyms for evacuate

Synonyms

clear, empty, vacate, void

Antonyms

fill, load

Examples of evacuate in a Sentence

People who live along the coast are being evacuated as the hurricane approaches. During World War II, children were evacuated from London to the country. Residents were ordered to evacuate the building. Residents have been ordered to evacuate.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the fires continue to happen—on August 1, a Ryanair flight from Spain to New York evacuated after a carry on laptop ignited. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "No One is Fixing Flying's Fire Problem," 3 Aug. 2018 Rescue workers evacuated most of the 200 tourists after two rounds of flooding hit the Havasupai reservation, deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon. — Felicia Fonseca And Alina Hartounian, chicagotribune.com, "Flash flood sends tourists to high ground near Grand Canyon," 13 July 2018 Authorities evacuated a half-mile radius and set up a shelter at Sun Prairie High School. — NBC News, "Sun Prairie, Wisconsin explosion: Firefighter dies after natural gas main erupts," 11 July 2018 Authorities evacuated a half-mile radius and set up a shelter at Sun Prairie High School. — CBS News, "Natural gas explosions rock Madison, Wisconsin suburb, level buildings," 11 July 2018 Image On Monday, the authorities evacuated a bus in the city center and, for a few hours, established a wide security cordon around it, raising fears of another nerve agent incident. — New York Times, "Britain Suggests Russia Is Behind Latest Nerve Agent Case," 9 July 2018 The family had evacuated twice before, most recently during the Gap fire of 2008. — Andrea Castillo, latimes.com, "'I have happy tears,' Goleta resident says after finding his home survived destructive wildfire," 9 July 2018 Officials evacuated all nearby homes and closed area streets Tuesday evening. — Annie Martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Man arrested after Deltona standoff ends peacefully," 4 July 2018 The US State Department evacuated at least 11 more Americans from China amid reports of bizarre sounds and sensations that have been associated with mild traumatic brain injury, according to The New York Times. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Brain injury, sound-attack fears spread in China as more Americans evacuated," 2 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'evacuate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.